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Australia hold the aces going into the fourth day of the Boxing Day Test against Pakistan as both sides will look to force a result. Join The Roar for live scores and coverage from 10am (AEDT).
Follow the live scores and blog of the fourth day’s play from 10.00 am local time.
With rain having played havoc right through the first couple of days in Melbourne, it must have come as a huge relief for the two teams and the fans that not too much time was lost to inclement weather on the third day.
The Australian bowlers continued with their struggles to get Pakistan out quickly enough as Azhar Ali and the lower-order continued to take advantage of a flat pitch and easing conditions.
Azhar notched up his second score of more than 200 in 2016 – he had earlier scored a triple-century against West Indies – while being involved in a 118-run stand for the eighth wicket with Sohail Khan.
Sohail, drafted into the line-up in place of Rahat Ali, smashed a 65-ball 65 to give an idea of the flattening MCG surface as Pakistan were able to move to 443 rather quickly before the declaration finally came in.
Australia lost Matt Renshaw early, bowled to a wild slog off the bowling of Yasir Shah and should have been two down but for a string of Wahab Riaz no-balls. One of these accounted for David Warner as well, bowled off an inside-edge, but once he had got that life, there was hardly any looking back.
Warner found an able ally in Usman Khawaja and together they piled on the Pakistani misery. Both were at their punishing best – Warner was brutal to Khawaja’s silken but the end result was what mattered to the two teams and it was a partnership of 198 runs for the second wicket.
By the time Warner was dismissed, he had scored 144 from 143 deliveries and pushed the Test match forward with his wonderfully aggressive batting – enough to raise hopes of a result. Khawaja was unbeaten on 95 at stumps, with skipper Steven Smith giving him company.
What Australia could look to do on day four is to bat it out. With a possible 98 overs in the day’s play, if they can get themselves at least a 100 runs ahead and put a possibly battered Pakistan back in on the final day, they could well be in the running to turn things around.
The weather looks a bit dodgy again but the rate at which Australia went on day three does seem to suggest they should be able to get 300 runs in the day’s play on Thursday. That could set the game up quite nicely for the final day.
Follow the live scores & blog of this fourth day’s play of the second Test between Australia and Pakistan from 10.00 am local time on Thursday.
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